Byju Raveendran

Byju Raveendran (born 1981)[1] is an Indian billionaire entrepreneur and educator who co-founded Byju's.

In this Indian name, the name Raveendran is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Byju.
Byju Raveendran
Born1981 (1981) (age 41)
Azhikode, Kannur, Kerala, India
NationalityIndian
EducationBachelor of Technology
Alma materGovernment College of Engineering, Kannur
OccupationEntrepreneur
TitleFounder & CEO of Byju's
Spouse(s)Divya Gokulnath

Early life and education

He was born in 1981 in the Azhikode[2] village of Kerala, India to Raveendran and Shobhanavalli.[3] He studied at a Malayalam medium school where his mother was a mathematics teacher and father a physics teacher.[4][5] He would skip classes and then learn at home.[6][7]

Career

After completing his B.Tech from the Government College of Engineering, Kannur, he joined a multinational shipping company as a service engineer.[3] During a vacation in 2003, he helped his friends who were studying for the CAT exam.[5] He then took the CAT exam and scored in the 100th percentile.[5] When he took the exam again, he again scored in the 100th percentile.[8] Two years later, he continued helping people study for the CAT exam, and based on the good results, decided to quit his job.[5]

In 2007, Byju founded the test preparation business Byju's Classes,[5] and the company grew to stadium-size classes.[9] In 2011, he founded Byju's with his wife, Divya Gokulnath,[4] who he met while she was a student in his exam preparation class.[10][11]

In 2015, as smartphone screen sizes increased, Byju's launched an app developed by Byju Raveendran.[12][5][13][14] In October 2018, the app expanded to the United Kingdom, United States and other English-speaking countries.[15]

According to Forbes, as of 2020, Byju, his wife, and his brother Riju Raveendran, have a combined net worth of US$3.05 billion.[16] In January 2021, he was added to the National Startup Advisory Council as a non-official member along with Kunal Bahl.[17] In April 2021, Byju's purchased the Indian test-prep provider Aakash Educational Services Ltd. for nearly US$1 billion.[18][19]

Philanthropy

Raveendran is spearheading the Education for All Initiative, under which 5 million children in India from various economic backgrounds will get access to new tech-driven learning solutions at Byju's platforms.[20]

Honors and awards

Notes

    References
    1. "Byju Raveendran | 2020 40 under 40 in Tech". Fortune. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
    2. "Byju's education app: A CAT topper who didn't fancy IIMs is making self-learning cool among Indian students — Quartz India". qz.com. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
    3. "ബൈജൂസ് ആപ്പിന്റെ കഥ; ബൈജു രവീന്ദ്രന്റെയും". Mathrubhumi.
    4. Gilchrist, Karen (July 30, 2019). "India crowns its newest billionaire, a 37-year-old former teacher". CNBC. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
    5. Krishna, Niharika (July 11, 2016). "Teacher, entrepreneur: The success story of Byju Raveendran". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
    6. Rai, Saritha (July 29, 2019). "Byju Raveendran, a former school teacher, joins Indian billionaires' club". LiveMint. Bloomberg. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
    7. India TV News Desk (July 30, 2019). "Reluctant student-turned teacher, meet Byju Raveendran - India's newest billionaire". India TV. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
    8. TNM Staff (July 29, 2019). "Kerala-born former teacher Byju Raveendran is India's newest billionaire". The News Minute. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
    9. Banerjee, Sreya (July 31, 2019). "Teacher turned app maker Byju Raveendran is India's newest billionaire". ABC News. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
    10. Ghosh, Debojyoti (November 21, 2020). "Byju's better half". Fortune India. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
    11. ET Now Digital (October 10, 2020). "With a wealth of over Rs 11,300 crore, meet India's youngest billionaire". TimesNowNews. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
    12. FP Staff (July 29, 2019). "Byju's founder, Raveendran polevaults into billionaire club with latest funding of $150 mn". FirstPost. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
    13. Rai, Saritha (December 3, 2020). "Byju Raveendran, the A Student in Online Ed". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
    14. Shah, Vrutika (February 12, 2020). "5 youngest billionaires of India and how they make their money". GQ India. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
    15. "India's Game-Changers - Byju Raveendran". BBC World News. October 6, 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
    16. "India's Richest - #46 Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath & family". Forbes. 10 July 2020.
    17. "Byju Raveendran, Kunal Bahl named to startup advisory panel". The Siasat Daily. 2021-01-19. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
    18. Singh, Manish (April 5, 2021). "Byju's acquires Indian tutor Aakash for nearly $1 billion". Techcrunch. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
    19. Bhalla, Tarush (April 5, 2021). "Aakash joins Byju's universe in a deal worth nearly $1 billion". Mint. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
    20. "BYJU'S aims to empower 5 million children with education by 2025". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
    21. "Express IT Awards: Byju Raveendran, a teacher who is the pupils' pet". The Financial Express. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
    22. Staff (December 7, 2020). "Byju Raveendran dedicates Manorama News Newsmaker Award to COVID warriors, teachers". Onmanorama. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
    23. "Byju Raveendran". EY. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
    24. Dave, Sachin (March 25, 2021). "Harsh Mariwala wins EY Entrepreneur of the year 2020 award". Economic Times. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
    25. Bathija, Monica (March 18, 2021). "FILA 2021 Entrepreneur for the Year: Byju Raveendran's global ambitions". Forbes India. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
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